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Friday, March 27, 2015

Onward to Oxford: Quidditch Darmstadt

As part of our efforts to preview all 32 teams competing in the European Quidditch Cup (EQC), the Quidditch Post is chatting with representatives from each team. Today we spoke with Jonas Zinn, captain of Quidditch Darmstadt.

Quidditch Post: Darmstadt has shown itself to be the top team in Germany, convincingly winning the National Title. How do you think the team will adjust to a European stage?

Jonas: Even though we placed first in the German qualificationi tournament, I think the EQC will be quite challenging for us. We only have three players with international experience, and we do not have a lot of tournament experience. However, I think we can make it through pool play.

QP: What will it take to make it that far?

Jonas: We need to be able to apply everything we have practiced these last few months and play really well as a team. We do not have a star player, so it's about using the strength of every individual player as well as possible. Of course we would also need a little bit of luck. We have already got a bit lucky, since we are in a much better group than some of the other German teams.

QP: Are there teams you're excited to play and/or hope to get the chance to face?

Jonas: Not really. We haven’t met or played against most of the teams.

QP: You alluded to not having a lead player, but can you talk a bit about some of the team's most influential players?

Jonas: Individual players don’t really influence us as we try not to depend upon just one person. Every possible lineup should be able to play well together.

QP: How many players will the team be bringing to Oxford?

Jonas: Including me, we have 12 players.

QP: Do you think that will be any sort of disadvantage?

Jonas: Not really. I think 12 is a good number. We will be able to sub often enough. During our qualification, there was never a situation where a player needed more time to rest.

QP: Would you say the team has a particular style of play?

Jonas: I would describe our play as fast and pass intensive.

QP: What do you hope the team takes away from the experience?

Jonas: Playing against other European teams is quite important for our development. It will help us to identify our weaknesses and to work on them in the future.

QP: How do you see your team growing moving forward?

Jonas: Our team is quite young, but I think our abilities have developed quite well. We were able to beat all of the older teams in the German qualifications. However, during winter, there were fewer people coming to our practices and therefore we didn’t make as much progress. But this will change as it gets warmer and there's less rain. Together with the experience from the EQC, we should be able to become much better next season.

QP: How old is the team?

Jonas: I founded the team in April 2014.

QP: How have you all been preparing for the EQC?

Jonas: By focusing on the mistakes we made during the qualification in order to avoid them during the EQC. Right now there is an exam period in Germany, so we are not able to have additional practice sessions.